WHAT'S HOT: With a 1-GHz Athlon CPU, 256MB of PC133 SDRAM, and Windows 2000, the TaskMaster posted a score of 109 on PC WorldBench 4. That's just 2 points shy of a Tangent Valera carrying a 1.2-GHz Athlon CPU and the same complement of memory, and it's 2 points faster than a 1.5-GHz Pentium 4 Micro Express MicroFlex 1500A system we tested with the same OS and quantity of RAM.

The PC we tested came with Sys's admirable 15-inch LCD monitor, the 1510P, which produced rich colors and sharp, readable text at its native resolution of 1024 by 768.

WHAT'S NOT: The TaskMaster 1000T lacks a comprehensive system manual, but comes with manuals for individual components.

WHAT ELSE: To open the standard beige Sys minitower case, you merely loosen two thumbscrews and then pop off the somewhat flexible plastic side; getting all the tabs in the right spots to reattach the side can take a bit of work, however. You can use the loop-style case lock to secure the side.

The interior of the TaskMaster 1000T we tested was fairly neat for a minitower, but some of the cables were bunched up behind the two open drive bays. Thumbscrews simplify adding expansion cards to the system's two open PCI slots.

System peripherals include a Plextor PlexWriter 24X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, a network interface card, and a dial-up modem.

Word Perfect Office 2002, a serviceable office suite, is the only application bundled with this system. The Sys keyboard has convenient hot-keys for Sleep, Wake Up, and Power; crisp feedback made typing on it a pleasure.

UPSHOT: A basic small office system, the TaskMaster 1000T couples powerful performance with a good LCD monitor at an affordable price.

SUMMARY

Sys TaskMaster 1000T PC WorldBench 4 score of 109, 1-GHz Athlon CPU, 256MB of SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000, 41GB hard drive, 24X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, Gigabyte GA-GF1280-32E graphics card with 32MB of SDRAM, Sys-1510P 15-inch LCD monitor, integrated Creative CT5880 sound card, Altec Lansing AVS300W speakers, network adapter, modem, minitower case, Variable-year parts warranty, five-year labor warranty; free, unlimited, daily tech support. $1253 800/613-9963 www.sys.com